1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to automotive instrument panels, and more specifically to glove box door constructions for such panels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common in the construction of automotive instrument panels to provide for a pivotally mounted door in the instrument panel to control access to a storage compartment, commonly referred to as a glove box. It is typical for such doors to present a generally vertical planar surface to the interior of the vehicle and to be hinged along the bottom edge to permit pivotal movement between open and closed positions. While most such glove box doors are mounted in a pivotally free fashion, it is known to use devices which control the hinged movement such as the torsion spring device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,234 to Biondo. Such devices assist in retaining the glove compartment door in its closed position and reduce the force necessary to effect closure.
More recent automotive vehicle designs, however, have presented a new problem in controlling glove box door movement. Many modern glove box doors function as a bolster arranged in juxtaposition with the knees of a passenger within the passenger compartment of the vehicle. Constructing the door as a bolster necessarily results in a more massive design than was heretofore encountered. It is accordingly desirable to modify the hinged movement of the door in a fashion that will result in slower movement of the massive design than would be possible in a freely pivoting arrangement. A present common approach to controlling this movement is through the use of hydropneumatic snubbers interposed between the door and the instrument panel. The additional cost, weight, and complexity of this approach makes it inappropriate in certain vehicle applications.
It is accordingly desired that the problem of modifying the pivotal motion of a glove box door with respect to an instrument panel be carried out in an inexpensive and effective manner.